Cruel Clocks
by Ezri Rei
Summary: Allen Walker, a humanoid, has been trapped inside a clock for 35 years. His creator placed him there to keep him safe from other humanoids that were after his life. That was until Rabi, an engineer that worked on clocks, released him from the darkness. Now, with his days limited, he has to help Allen adjust to life while the humanoid tries to protect him from old enemies. One-shot.


**The story idea was made up by Usagi-Twins and my friend Elvira Rayne wrote half of it and I wrote the other half. We both beta'd this story together just in case one of us accidentally wrote 'Lavi' instead of 'Rabi' or 'Lenalee' instead of 'Rinali' xD it's happened quite often...anyways, I hope you enjoy the story! There _will _be a sequel and there is a small smut scene in here but it's not really much. Just a warning. The story is based off of the song Cruel Clocks, which is a Vocaloid song. I'd suggest listening to it and watching the visuals before you read the story to get what's going on...also, there is a cover to it if you don't want to listen to the Japanese and it's by Jubyphonic or...something like that...x3 Without further ado, please enjoy the story!**

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><p>Everything was dark before he met the boy who so brightly came to shine in his eyes. Before him, it was all just a void. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't see...all he could do was think about how much he longed to be away from this place. He was unsure of where he was to begin with, but he could only remember his creator, Mana Walker, putting him here. Mana was quite a warm human and Allen didn't know why Mana had put him inside wherever this was in the first place. All he knew was how long it had been because of the constant ticks he'd been hearing since Mana had put him inside here. It had been exactly thirty-five years since he'd been put inside this darkness. It was so lonely here inside this void of darkness and he wanted out; not only that he couldn't sleep while he was in the clock, it was impossible. He knew he wasn't human and that he was immortal...but he was always able to sleep when he was outside of the clock. What stopped him now? What was he? And when could he leave?<p>

The question was answered not even hours after.

Rabi was a young teen of eighteen years old. He had vibrant red hair and bright green eyes. His smile was what people liked about him the most other than his wonderful personality. He was never cruel to anyone he met, though he did like to joke around a lot and prank people. It was just who he was and he loved life. Currently him and his grandfather were moving into a rather old and worn house. Apparently the house was really old—about 40 years maybe? They took a tour and if you knew his grandfather, then you'd know that this old antique house was perfect for him even though this was going to be _Rabi's _house and _Rabi _was going to be living in it. In all honesty, the house tended to creep Rabi out since it was old and it creaked and even had _cobwebs. _The person selling the house went by the name of Neah Walker.

"So, like, how long has it been since someone has _lived _in this house?" Rabi asked the nervous man.

"Ah, it's been thirty-five years. My brother, Mana, used to live here, he also treasured the grandfather clock against the wall, but it has stopped since he died...however you can still hear it ticking like it's still alive." Neah explained, gesturing to the clock in another room. Hearing the story, Bookman came over to investigate the clock. Neah gave something to the old man and whispered in his ear and Bookman simply nodded, pocketing whatever was given to him.

"I understand and thank you." Bookman said, gently touching the clock. Inside, the being stirred at the touch.

"You're welcome." He smiled. Bookman nodded and decided to go check out whatever the attic had in store for him. Neah turned to Rabi. "If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to contact me." After saying this, the man winked and gave him a slip of paper before leaving.

_Why did he just wink at me? Uh, I hope he's not interested or something..._Rabi thought and started wandering off to the other parts of the house. He placed his feet one by one on a step and with each step he took on the stairs, they creaked, causing the redhead to wince. It'd be hard sneaking out the front door since his room was upstairs. For some reason, Rabi had a feeling that Bookman _meant _to put his room upstairs _for _this reason. Probably so he couldn't sneak out at night. Rabi walked into the room that was supposed to be his. Everything was the same from thirty-five years ago according to Neah because he couldn't bring himself to change anything so he left everything there.

By the looks of the room...well, Rabi couldn't really determine what kind of person owned this room. It was quite white. The bed sheets were white, the floor was white, the walls were white, even a lamp on the white bedside table was white. _Either this person really hated the dark or they didn't like the color black. _Rabi thought jokingly as he collapsed on the bed. There'd probably be dust flying everywhere if Neah didn't vacuum anything like he said he did. A small gleam from the caught his eye and he stood up to go check it out. He opened the closet and came across a picture frame that sat on top of a rather large chest. The chest felt extremely cold but Rabi dismissed it for a second before picking the picture up.

In the picture was two men and a young teen. The elder of the two men had long, black hair that was kept in a pony tail and golden eyes. The younger one, which seemed to be related to the man because of his looks, had shortish, spiky, black hair with golden eyes as well. They both had their hands on the boy's shoulder and they looked quite familiar to him...Rabi looked at the younger boy. He had blinding white hair, mercury-colored eyes, and a red mark going down the left side of his face. It was quite a unique frame but yet it held so much beauty. Rabi put the picture down and knelt down to the chest, pressing his hands against it. It was really cold and was locked shut. There was a small key hole on it and Rabi sighed. Bookman would never let him get into such an important chest on his own.

"Rabi!" Said redhead flinched when he heard the scolding tone of his grandfather downstairs. _I didn't break anything, what does he want?...well, I don't _think _I broke anything..._Rabi thought as he pranced downstairs. Bookman was standing in front of the clock before and gestured to it. "This is going into your room until you can fix it." He instructed. Since Rabi was good at clockwork, he often worked on clocks and often fixed the clock tower in town. Surely this wouldn't be hard at all for him.

"Eh? But then I won't be able to sleep at night!" Rabi whined. Bookman rose an eyebrow at him.

"Why's that?" He asked.

"Well, there could be like a _ghost _inside of it or something. Not to mention I'll have to hear that constant ticking all night!" He said reasonably. Bookman's eyebrow twitched and he huffed, grabbing Rabi's hand and forcing a key inside of it.

"You _will _move the clock to your room and you _will _fix it and you _will _not complain about it, got it? You're lucky I'm even staying here to watch over you for a few days." Bookman snapped.

"I never said that I needed you to stay and watch over me though..." Rabi muttered.

"What was that?" Bookman asked sharply.

"Nothin', gramps!" He said loudly and grabbed a hold of the clock.

Honestly, he thought it'd be quite heavy...but it was actually surprisingly light. It was still hard getting such a huge clock _upstairs _though. Little did he know, the being inside the clock could feel every little move and actually thought an earthquake was going on. It took the redhead twenty minutes to get the clock into his room across his bed. Rabi opened his hand and stared at the key in his hand before clenching his hand around it. He shook his head, he didn't really have _time _to fix such an old clock now. He needed to get to the tower in a few minutes.

"You're not leaving until that clock is fixed!" He heard his grandfather shout from downstairs and cursed to himself.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Rabi shouted back and turned to the clock. He unlocked the top part of the clock first and couldn't find anything that seemed to be wrong there. _Maybe there's something in the back that's wrong? _Rabi thought and turned it over. He held the key up to the hole and paused. As he inserted the key, he felt a rush of something pour inside of him and resisted the urge to pull back. _Something must be wrong here..._Rabi thought and turned the key. Just as he opened the back up, something rather large came falling out onto him. "Uwah!" He shouted as the person collapsed against him. He was just about to scream until he realized that it was just a young teenager...Rabi narrowed his eyes...he's seen him somewhere before...but where?

"Rabi, what's going on?!" Bookman asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" Rabi shouted and quickly looked for a place to hide the boy. He dragged him over to the closet and shoved him inside before closing the closet door and hurried back over to the clock. Just as he got to the clock, his grandfather appeared. "Just...fixing the clock is all...heh..." Rabi said, laughing nervously. Bookman narrowed his eyes and walked over, turning it around. He blinked with surprise.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Rabi. You fixed it in a matter of seconds? What did you do?" Bookman asked.

"Uh, well you see, I actually—" Rabi started but Bookman held up a hand to silence him.

"Never mind, I don't want to hear about your ridiculous clockwork madness. Clockwork won't pay for your hospital bills." Bookman snapped. _Wow, love ya too gramps. _Rabi thought, though Bookman did have a point. The redhead had been around the machines too long and caught a sickness. He didn't know where he got it from, an employee or radiation in the air, but it was deadly and he had to make frequent trips to the hospital for it. Lately he's been avoiding that though because the bills are always so expensive. It was either pay expensive bills or cough blood half the time...Rabi chose the second choice.

"Yeah...speaking of, I need a bit of rest today, do you mind calling them and telling them I can't come work on the clock tower today?" Rabi asked. He didn't want to be the one to tell them that he couldn't work today; if Bookman did it, they'd suspect that he was sick and understand. Bookman narrowed his eyes at Rabi and sighed.

"Whatever, Rabi." He grumbled and shut the door.

Waiting until Bookman's footsteps had disappeared, Rabi walked over to the door and locked it. He then walked towards the closet and opened the door. _What would a boy be doing inside the clock and how long has he been there? Is he...dead? _Rabi wondered as he dragged the boy out. He blinked a few times and looked at the picture frame before looking down at the boy. He looked between the two and almost dropped the boy in surprise. Lost as to what to do, Rabi poked him. "Uh, hey, you should wake up. Hello? You aren't dead are you?" Rabi asked, feeling the coldness of his skin. _What if he is dead? _Rabi paled. That thought disappeared whenever the boy opened up his eyes.

"Uh...good morning?" Rabi tried as a greeting.

"It's the afternoon." The boy said, sounding monotonous.

"Uh...yeah...I knew that..." Rabi said stupidly and scratched the back of his head. He blinked a few times and stared down at the boy. "So, uh, who are you?" He asked and the boy sat up, gazing around the room. He either pretended not to hear Rabi or just flat out ignored him.

"This place is..." He said softly, looking around.

"...yeah...this is my house..." Rabi informed. The boy narrowed his eyes and looked at Rabi.

"..._your _house? That's right...it's been a long time..." He said quietly.

"Um...why were you in that clock? Who are you? How long were you in the clock?" Rabi asked curiously.

"I don't know why my father put me in that clock. My name is Allen Walker...and I was in the clock for...a long time..." He answered the last question in a whisper.

"I'm gonna need more details than that." Rabi said.

"Rabi! Who are you talking to?!" Bookman shouted from downstairs.

"U-uh, no one! Just mumbling to myself about the clock tower, sorry!" Rabi shouted as Allen stared at him curiously.

"Whatever! I'm going out!" Bookman shouted and they both heard the front door slam.

"Who was that?" Allen asked.

"That was my grandfather. He'll be living with me for a few days in the guest bedroom. If you don't mind, I need to ask you more questions." Rabi said. "Exactly _how _long were you in that clock?"

"Thirty-five years." He answered. Rabi nodded his head.

"I see, I see—wait, _what?!" _Allen smiled at him amusingly. "H-how old are you...how did you even survive!? Are you even..." Rabi trailed over.

"I'm not human." Allen answered the unspoken question. Rabi's jaw dropped.

"What...are you?" He asked, slightly scared.

"I'm a humanoid." Allen answered uncertainly.

"But...how can that be?" Rabi asked, running his hand down Allen's arm. "Can you feel that?" He asked. Allen nodded.

"I don't really know how I was created, but I can feel and do anything a human can I'm just...immortal I guess you could say..." Allen said slowly.

"Can you bleed?" Rabi asked, poking other parts of his body.

"Yep." Allen replied shortly.

"How?" Rabi's curiosity was officially piqued. Was Allen a _part _of the clock?

"I...don't know..." He mumbled, wishing Mana would've told him more about how he was made.

"Do you have gears inside you?"

"Most likely." After answering that, Allen became a bit freaked when Rabi had a new gleam of curiosity inside.

"Really? So you're part of the clock? This is amazing! If I knew that sooner I'd—" Allen shook his head, cutting off Rabi's rambling.

"I'm not a part of the clock..." He informed.

"Eh? Then why were you in there? And why did the clock stop?" Allen was lost with how to answer Rabi's questions; instead, he asked his own.

"Who are you?" Allen asked. "Are you a friend of Mana's? Neah's? Why are you here? Why is this house yours now? Do you know what happened to Mana?" Rabi felt his mouth become dry at Allen's questions. Even if he's lived so long, he still looked to be young and innocent...how would he react if Rabi told him the truth?

"My name is Rabi, and Neah sold this house to me and my grandfather." Rabi tried keeping it simple, but just that one statement made Allen's face fall.

"He...left me behind?" He asked quietly, his voice laced with sadness.

"Maybe he just forgot!" Rabi tried again, but that only made things worse.

"He...forgot about me...?" Allen asked, his eyes glazed over.

"I...shit..." Rabi sighed and hugged Allen. "Neah got old, Allen. Even if he didn't forget about you, he wouldn't be able to take care of you..." The humanoid hugged the redhead back.

"So are you going to be here for me then?" Allen asked.

"I...yes..." Rabi said, closing his eyes as he bashed himself. He was so stupid! How was he going to take care of this robotic human and do work at the same time?! "So...why did the clock stop when you were inside? Do you mind going back inside the clock so I can see if it stops again?" Rabi was just genuinely curious...

"N-no! I don't ever w-want to go back in there...please don't make me go, Rabi..." Allen begged. "Don't ever put me inside the clock..."

"Y-you don't have to if you don't want to! I mean, it isn't like I'm your dad or anything." He said quietly. The humanoid snuggled into his warmth with a small smile.

"I'm happy..." He said gently. "I'm no longer alone...it's so dark inside the clock...I can't speak...or move...or see..."

"I'm sorry...it must have been lonely in there...jeez, were you counting all that time?" Rabi asked incredulously. Allen nodded against his chest.

"Mhmm...I couldn't do anything else..."

"Wow, that sucks."

"Mhmm...Rabi...if Neah really sold this house to you does that mean...does that mean Mana is gone?" He asked quietly. Rabi thought about the consequences of telling Allen the truth and almost didn't tell him, but he knew that Allen needed to know.

"...yeah...but don't worry, cause I'll take care of you!" Rabi promised.

"...thank you, Rabi..."

What Rabi didn't know, was that this humanoid was more trouble than he was worth.

It had been months since Rabi and Allen's first encounter. They lived together peacefully and Bookman never found out about Allen. Honestly, Rabi was really starting to get attached to Allen. At first, he had no idea how to take care of Allen. Was it okay for him to eat human food? Can he sleep? Is he allowed to take a bath? Was he allergic to anything? Luckily, everything turned out alright. He could eat, he could sleep, he could take baths, he wasn't allergic to anything. Now that Rabi thought about it, this Mana guy had to be a genius. To be able to _create _a human that lived forever...there had to be _some _kind of catch, right? Living forever sounded amazing...that made him realize something.

What was Allen going to do when he died? Who could he turn to? Yes, it would be a long time before he died, but Allen lived _forever. _Which meant he'd always have to deal with deal in his never ending life. Rabi would constantly think about it, over and over. Allen was a really nice boy, he didn't deserve to go through so much pain. He started thinking about what Allen might do whenever he passed away. Would the boy try and kill himself? Yes, he was immortal, but that didn't mean he couldn't get hurt. He told Rabi himself that he could bleed. Usually if something could bleed, it could die. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take living forever and that he'd do whatever it took to kill himself if it meant living alone.

"Are you going to the clock tower today, Rabi?" Allen asked, rolling over to face him. One month into their meeting, Allen told him that he couldn't sleep alone, he never wanted to be alone, in fact, so Rabi just let him sleep with him.

"Yeah. It's my job. I have to earn money to pay off the house...to my grandfather." He explained. _Maybe...I can show Allen how to take care of himself so that way he knows what to do when I'm gone..._he thought to himself and smiled. "Do you want to come with me today?"

"Can I really?!" Allen asked excited, jumping up out of bed.

"Yeah!"

"Is that...allowed?"

"You'll just be a visitor taking a look at the clock tower. There are a lot of people excited for this clock tower to be built so it's actually normal for people to come in from time to time." Rabi said, grinning.

"That's amazing! Okay! I'll get dressed right away!" Allen said, slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

Rabi tilted his head and watched as the shirt fell to the floor and he searched for a new one. He couldn't help but stare at the teen's left arm. It was so...odd. It was red, wrinkly, almost as if it was some kind of rebound. Perhaps this Mana person miscalculated something during the procedure of creating Allen and the teen was injured from it. He never really spoke about it, and he seemed a bit touchy about it when he first undressed in front of the redhead. Rabi slowly walked over to the humanoid and laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. He stiffened just a little, it was a much better reaction than the one he received before. The first time Rabi touched it, the boy reacted violently, slapping him away. This time Rabi could tell he was trying his best to be calm about it. He sighed and draped his arms around him.

"...Rabi? Is something wrong?" Allen asked, touching the boy's arm.

"It's nothing, Allen." He mumbled, burying his face into the younger's (...or elder's?) shoulder. He sighed and kissed the pale skin, feeling him shudder.

Okay so maybe their relationship was just a bit more than attachment.

"Rabi..." Allen mumbled, closing his mouth before he could say more. To be honest, he was thinking about it too. He knew that Rabi wouldn't live forever and that one day he'd be gone. He also knew that it was selfish of him, but he wanted for Rabi to live forever too. He didn't think he'd be able to live without the teen. After Allen came out of the clock, _Rabi _became his life. He did his best everyday to help him out and he just knew that the redhead was sick. He knew that he was keeping it from him too. Rabi would always tell him to leave him alone for a few minutes or that he'd go out for 'fresh air', but Allen knew something was wrong. Maybe...if he also worked, he could get money and find a special doctor to help him.

"Heh, you still in there, buddy?" Allen stirred from his thoughts and looked up at him with a smile. Rabi smiled back and hugged him close.

"Yeah. What time is it?" He asked. Rabi blinked and cursed to himself.

"Hurry and get dressed, we should get going soon." Allen nodded and found a pair of clothes to slip on, following Rabi out the door quickly.

The two ran to the clock tower, occasionally joking around with each other and racing. The humanoid already knew he was much faster than his human friend but he didn't want to strain him out, so he would slow down as much as he could. They finally arrived and Rabi had the biggest smile on his face as the two of them entered the clock tower. He was greeted by a girl who held a clipboard. Her head was full of dark green hair that was put up in pigtails. Her eyes shone a beautiful purple and she seemed very friendly. Allen hid behind Rabi, not wanting to attract too much attention. She seemed very sharp though and noticed him moving behind the teen. Rabi called her Rinali.

"Eh? Who's your friend there?" She asked, smiling.

"This is Allen, I've told you about him..." Rabi trailed off and Rinali's face instantly went dark. She stared at Allen suspiciously, draining the happiness Allen felt when Rabi said that he talked about him. It seemed that Rabi didn't tell her many good things about him. He clenched Rabi's shirt and looked away. What was so bad about him being around? Did he trouble Rabi? Rabi never said anything about it. Then again, now that he thought about it, Bookman did say that he was sick because he was around so many clocks...Allen wasn't a clock, but he was close, wasn't he? Was he actually making Rabi even more sick? His throat went dry and he backed away from his partner. Would it be better if Rabi had never found him in the first place? He'd rather be in that clock than thinking that he was the cause of Rabi's pain. "Is something wrong, Allen?"

"Um...no, I just...I'm going to...take a look around..." He said slowly and ran off.

"Huh, that was weird. He's really friendly." Rabi assured and Rinali watched Allen help a girl pick up some papers she dropped.

"Rabi, if someone were to find out about him-"

"No one's going to find out about him, Rina! He's really harmless! He couldn't hurt a fly!" Rabi said, looking back at Allen, who gave the woman a nervous smile as she scurried off. "See?" She gave him a smile, but wasn't really completely sure about the boy. Rabi seemed to enjoy his company so maybe...maybe Allen could grant him happiness before he died. Rinali knew that Rabi's time was coming soon and she didn't like to think about it, but Rabi was the one who told her that he was sick. Honestly, she just wanted him to be happy before he died. So maybe...this humanoid wouldn't hurt him as she thought he would. Her eyes widened when he accidentally bumped into Kanda.

"Uh oh."

"What?" Rabi questioned and turned around. His eyes widened and he quickly walked over. There was a 'no running' policy and he was not about to get suspended...again...

"Watch where you're going." He seethed, holding Allen aggressively by the shirt.

"Wh-what? I'm sorry! I already said I didn't mean it!" Allen cried, remembering the polite little things Rabi would teach him. Usually people would understand and walk away but this man seemed truly offended.

"Yu! Am I glad to see you! Heh. That was funny, how's it going?" He asked, slinging an arm around the man. Allen noticed his eye twitching and really thought that maybe it'd be a bit safer if Rabi took his arm away from him...he really looked like he wanted to bite it off.

"What are you doing here? I thought you took a few days off?"

"Nope! I'm all here now! Now, would you mind letting my little friend go, here?"

"Che." He grumbled and dropped Allen, walking off.

"What was his deal?" Allen questioned, feeling where the vicious man had wrinkled his shirt.

"Ah, don't worry about that, Yu has always been like that. Well, I suggest you call him Kanda, you wouldn't want him to snap at you. He's got a bad temper, but that's just how he is." Rabi informed. He was about to drape his arm around Allen but Allen, who already knew that he would, stepped away. Rinali narrowed her eyes, seeing Allen step away from the redhead...almost as if he were scared. Rabi frowned at the action. "Allen? Is something wrong?"

"Rabi, I know you...I..." Allen started and looked over, seeing Rinali watching him. "I just...need to do something real quick..." He mumbled and walked off, putting as much distance between them as he could. Rinali frowned and raised an eyebrow when she saw Rabi coming back, confused.

"He's...acting really strange today...everything seemed fine until I brought him here...I wonder what's up with him."

"I'll talk to him for you." Rinali said with a smile, following Allen up the stairs and out to one of the platforms hanging where engineers would work on the huge clock from. He stared down, swaying slightly. Being so high up tended to do that to people, Rinali knew that from experience. She stepped onto the platform and Allen spun around, causing the platform to sway a bit. The swaying made him fall over a little and Rinali couldn't help but giggle at the look of surprise on his face. "Relax, I just came here to talk." She said with a smile, holding out her hand. Allen raised his right gloved hand to take it but paused. If he was dangerous to Rabi...wouldn't he be dangerous to her? Allen took his hand back and helped himself up. He turned around, not looking at her. She sighed and stood beside him, looking over at the town. He looked down and wondered if he jumped off if it'd kill him.

"You know about me, don't you?"

"I...yes...how did you-"

"I can tell...do you think...I'm dangerous to him?"

"Why would you be dangerous to him?" Rinali asked slowly.

"He doesn't know...I know he's sick..." Allen mumbled, watching another engineer from another platform work on the clock. "He thinks I don't know..." He mumbled.

"Rabi is...a bit selfless. He tends to worry about others over himself."

"I love him."

"...huh?" She asked intelligently, blinking a few times.

"I love Rabi." Allen said more confidently, looking over at her with a frown. "But...is that possible? I mean...I think I do...but I'm not...human..." He mumbled, looking away from her.

"You don't have to be human to love someone, Allen." She said softly and Allen looked over at her confusingly. How would she know that? She gave him a smile and looked up at the clock. "Rabi is truly a genius, you know? It's his fault that this thing is being built and that it's so successful. However, there are some people out there who are jealous of Rabi's talent. I don't think you're dangerous to him, Allen, but I do think that maybe you can protect him. Lately there have been rumors flying around that another company has set some people out to hurt Rabi...without Rabi, this clock won't be built in a few years. It would take hundreds of years to build it without him. This clock gives him what others don't have. Popularity. If you're famous with the people, you get more approval from the king. With the king's approval, you can get very far in life. I'm hoping that maybe the king will cure him if he finishes the clock, however...he can't finish it if he dies, Allen. I want you to protect him...you can't die, right? I know it's a lot to ask for...but will you watch over him for me?" Allen smiled and nodded.

"You don't have to tell me that, Rinali. I planned to do that from the beginning..."

"So, you've known Rabi for a few months, right? You live with him? How did you guys meet?"

"My...father, the man who created me...he was in a lot of trouble after creating me." Allen said slowly, looking up at the beautiful clock as well. "You see, there are a certain group of people who make people like me-"

"There's more humanoids out there?!" She asked and Allen hushed her.

"Yes...but, Mana...he used to be their family...and then he left them to create me...to do that...well, it was betraying their family secrets so they came after him...I never really told Rabi about any of this...but...he sealed me in the clock so they wouldn't destroy me...they were already in the room but he entrusted the key to Neah, his brother. They didn't know that so when he locked me in...they couldn't get to me...I don't know what happened after that...all I could do was...nothing...I couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't even speak or scream...until Rabi came along. I'd been in that clock for thirty five years...Rabi helped me out...I...owe everything to him." Allen smiled.

"Why did Mana create you in the first place?" Rinali asked curiously.

"I..." Allen started and looked over at Rinali. "I died." She blinked several times and tilted her head.

"Uh...what?"

"Mana...when I was human, I was an orphan. He adopted me without his father's permission so he tried to make Mana kill me."

"He what?! But you were just a kid!"

"This man...The Millennium Earl...he's a very bad man."

"The Millennium Earl? You can't possibly be talking about Adam Millennium, right?" Allen frowned at her.

"I'm not sure what his first name is." He replied. "Anyways, he made Mana hurt me. I don't know how, but Mana wasn't himself and then...I just...was gone...I'm not really completely sure what happened...but he created a new body for my soul I guess. That's all I can think about. The only other man who knows how to make a humanoid is Mana's family."

"Interesting..." Rinali mumbled to herself.

Adam Millennium was the one who set his men on Rabi.

_Why would he do that? Is he actually after Rabi or did he learn of Allen's location and he's really after him? Then again, this happened years ago so he couldn't possibly have known that Rabi would buy the house Allen was stored in..._"Are you guys done chatting?!" Rabi called from down a few flights. Rinali and Allen both turned around to see Rabi walking up the stairs.

"Yeah, Rab, we'll be right over!" Rinali called, smiling. She turned to Allen a bit uncertainly. "I hope we can hang out sometime." Allen nodded and waved her goodbye. He looked at Rabi and twitched, suddenly seeing his body bloodied and beaten on the floor. He frowned and ran towards the redhead, hugging him tightly. Rabi blinked and hugged him back.

"What's up with you today? Is it that time of the month?" He asked jokingly and Allen stepped on his foot. "Ow! What'd you do that for? I was just kidding!" He laughed. Allen said nothing and just relaxed into the warm embrace for awhile. They stayed like that until Kanda came up and dismissed Rabi to leave. Rabi tried to stay, but Kanda forced the both of them to leave. Allen scrunched his nose in distaste.

"He's really mean."

"Yeah, well, that's just how Yu is. Say, wanna go out for dinner?"

"Sure!" Allen smiled and the two of them walked to a diner.

The next few months had rolled smoothly. Rabi would invite Rinali and Kanda over from time to time and really, Allen started to enjoy himself. He was much more relaxed around the teen than ever before. It'd only been a year and Allen would risk his life for the redhead. Everyday he started his day with a smile. Rabi had even shown him how to get a job and how to cook. The first few meals were charcoal, but Allen started to get the hang of it. They even started bathing together. The two of them were inseparable. Allen made sure to keep a close eye on him everyday. He worked at a flower shop right across from the clock tower just in case something happened. There were many good things that happened to him...however...Allen also noticed that he was getting worse and worse. Even Bookman started to visit frequently. His meeting with the man had been quite a lot to explain...not to mention awkward. They had actually been kissing when Rabi had his first episode in front of Allen. He was distant and cold when it was happening. He started to cough out blood and Allen was only trying to help, but Rabi shooed him away, told him to sleep on the couch that night. The next few days were a bit stiff until Rabi apologized about it and swore that it would never happen again.

Allen knew that was a lie.

Maybe he never saw it happen, but he knew Rabi's sickness was just getting worse and worse each day, which was why he forced himself to smile at the redhead every morning. To pretend that he was happy this way. He wasn't happy about Rabi's sickness...he wanted to find a doctor and even thought about finding Neah to help him. He had actually thought once or twice about making Rabi like himself but...that would be selfish. He sighed and stood up from where he was laying on the couch. He only meant to take a nap. Rabi had caught him leaving, but Allen told him he was only taking a walk. It seemed that Rabi trusted him enough to go out by himself. He wouldn't be long, after all, they didn't live far from where he was headed. The weather outside was chilly and he could see his breath. He remembered a time when he and Rabi would just sit there and breathe out, laughing at the mist that escaped from their lips. He stopped at the entrance when he saw Rinali also standing there. He walked past the gate and over to her. She was standing in front of the graves of her parents. She never met them before, but she still paid her respects to them. They died in an accident when they were also building clocks.

"Good evening, Rinali." Allen greeted. She looked behind her but didn't move. Allen walked over and looked down at the graves of her parents, wondering what they were like.

"What are you doing here, Allen?" She asked quietly.

"I'm here to do what you are doing now." He replied, just as quietly. "Here, follow me." He mumbled, walking towards the back of the cemetery. He lead her to a grave.

"Mana Walker." She read aloud. "Your father?" Allen nodded his head. His head tilted as he stared at the one beside Mana's. His own grave was there. Rinali followed his gaze and her eyes widened. He could hear a small gasp from her. "Allen Walker." She said quietly.

"When people are reborn...they often go by different names, they might even have a different last name; usually not, but it's possible. Mana recreating me...it was illegal...but I suppose if you leave your family and only have your deceased son left...you start to get ideas. Mana was too smart...he shouldn't have created me...if he didn't, he might have been able to return to his own family."

"But...without you, Rabi wouldn't be here right now. You're his hope, Allen." Rinali said, smiling. Allen returned the smile and then frowned.

"I should probably go back."

"Yeah, me too. My brother will explode when he realizes that I snuck out." The two of them laughed and walked home, parting ways eventually. As Allen walked to their house, all sorts of scenes flashed through his head and soon enough, he started to see criminals...ones that were after Rabi's life. His heart...or what he thought was his heart, began to beat quickly. He shouldn't have left Rabi alone...what if he had been killed? Allen's walk had turned into a run and soon enough, he was sprinting back to the house, slamming the door behind him.

"Rabi?" Allen called and the redhead emerged from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"The door didn't do anything to you." He teased and Allen sighed with relief before laughing a little.

"I suppose it didn't. Say, are you going to the tower tomorrow?" He asked curiously. He offered to volunteer at the flower shop and he didn't want to leave Rabi alone at the house...all by himself...where he could be murdered...with no one to protect him.

"Yeah, actually. Big boss said I could finally come back. Why? Do you have work tomorrow?"

"Sort of." He said with cheeky smile. Rabi grinned and turned around to spit in the sink. Allen walked back to their room and sat on the bed before laying on it, relaxing on the comfortable cushion. He closed his eyes and felt Rabi crawl onto the mattress. He could feel Rabi hover over him and smiled, raising his arms up to bring Rabi closer. The two of them locked lips together and Rabi's hand felt up his shirt.

"Do you think this is weird, Allen?" He asked suddenly and the teen raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's weird?"

"I don't know...if there were other humanoids, wouldn't you rather...uh...do all this stuff with them instead of a human?"

"Isn't that sort of racist?" Allen asked and the two of them laughed before kissing again. "Mm..." He moaned, unbuttoning Rabi's shirt. The redhead grinned into the kiss. Allen had become more bold as they spent time together. He wasn't complaining. The two of them became more serious and clothes were shed a lot more quickly than normal.

"You know, if you're part robot...how come you don't have any..." Rabi started, speaking through kisses.

"Metal parts?" Allen asked and Rabi snorted.

"Yeah."

"I'm not the scientist Rabi...and can you please not talk about this stuff during..."

"Sex?" Allen blushed at the word. It was just so...blunt.

"Y-yeah...nng..." Allen moaned as Rabi pressed a finger through.

"I haven't even done anything yet-"

"Shut up or I'll kick you." He growled. Rabi laughed and kissed his neck. He moaned and tangled his hand in Rabi's hair. Rabi bit his lip, just feeling himself turned on by the sounds of Allen's moans. "Rabi..." He moaned breathlessly as the elder pushed his last digit through. During the process of stretching him, he made many marks on Allen's body. Allen breathed heavily against Rabi's skin. He raised his hands up and pulled Rabi down, engaging in a kiss. Rabi removed his fingers and positioned himself in front of Allen's entrance before slowly pushing in. "Ahhh!" Allen moaned, throwing his head back. The redhead gently kissed at his neck. He didn't move for awhile, waiting until Allen accustomed to having him inside. "Ahh...ha...okay...you can move..." Allen moaned softly. Rabi didn't hesitate to start moving then.

"Ha...mm, you're so tight..." Rabi moaned, quickening his thrusts. Allen wasn't any better at keeping his voice down. In fact, he was pretty loud and Rabi was actually really glad that he didn't live with his grandfather anymore. The two of them kissed and left marks on each other. Rabi's thrusts became even more hard and Allen's fingertips scratched down Rabi's back, making deep marks. Rabi gritted his teeth at the pain, but it was worth it. The pleasure that was swimming through his veins had blocked out most of it.

"Rabi...I...nng, I'm going to..." He moaned and Rabi grabbed his aching erection to help him release. Allen let out a long moan as he came and Rabi was following soon after, releasing inside. The two of them laid there panting, sweaty, and hot. They were both out of it for what seemed like hours. The two of them were lost in each others eyes for a moment until he pulled out. Allen winced and snuggled up to Rabi after they crawled under the covers. He closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep. "...I love you..." He whispered before falling unconscious. Rabi's heart clenched in his chest. It was so hard to keep calm, knowing that he could die any day now, leaving Allen completely alone.

He didn't want to die, not yet.

"I love you too..." He whispered, a tears falling from his eyes.

* * *

><p>"You've been such a great help, Allen! Please come volunteer again for me, won't you, sweetie?" Jerry asked and Allen smiled, waving him goodbye.<p>

"Of course I will, Jerry! Have a nice night!"

"You too, honeybun!" Allen almost rolled his eyes at the nickname. Jerry had a habit of calling him anything that dealt with food ever since he took him out for lunch one day. It was a very nice lunch. Allen devoured _everything. _He sighed in content and placed a pot of flowers outside the door like Jerry instructed him to.

He stopped when he caught sight of a group of people walking into the clock tower. To be blunt, they looked suspicious. He had a bad feeling in his gut. Looking back at the flower shop, Allen jogged over to the tower. They were all dressed in black and looked like bad news. He narrowed his eyes and watched as they walked up the stairs towards Rabi, who was working on...his clock? He didn't remember his clock leaving the house...what was it doing here? And what did those people want with him? He narrowed his eyes and felt a little relieved when Kanda headed for them. His eyes widened when one of them carelessly pushed him aside. The impact was so much that he fell off. _If he hits the ground..._the fall was much too high. Allen ran as quickly as he could, barely making it in time to catch Kanda.

"Who are they?!" Allen asked, terrified for Rabi's health.

"They're Millennium's goons. They're there to kill him." Kanda growled, standing up by himself. Allen's eyes flickered dangerously and he stood up straight.

"No they won't." He muttered before taking off up the stairs. One of them raised a blade while he had his nose deep in the back of the clock. "RABI!" He screamed and Rabi bumped his head before looking behind him. He shouted and moved out of the way, the blade slicing through the top of the clock. "H-holy shit that thing is sharp..." He whispered, backing away. "Who are you?!" Allen ran towards the person who tried to stab him and kicked him off the edge.

"JASDERO!" One of them shouted and jumped off with him.

"Idiot..." Kanda mumbled, looking up to see a taller man headed for Rabi. Allen walked in front of the redhead, instantly recognizing the golden eyes.

This was the man who attacked Mana. Or, well, he was a part of them. His eyes widened at the sight of Allen.

"What...you're alive..." He mumbled, taking a step back. Allen narrowed his eyes at him. "No...Mana killed you!" Rabi's eyes widened and he looked at Allen in shock.

"He only did what your father told him to." Allen hissed and attacked him.

"Tyki, be careful!" A short girl from afar cried out. She looked around and caught sight of Rinali. Her smile grew wide and she headed towards the girl. Kanda saw her and headed over. Rabi looked around, panicking. What was he supposed to do? Who were they after, him or Allen? He saw the girl and Kanda start exchanging blows. Time stood still when a larger man came up behind Kanda and stabbed him in the back.

"KANDA!" Rinali screamed. The shorter girl grinned and walked towards her. Allen looked back at them, taking his eyes away from Tyki. He froze when he felt an excruciating pain course through his chest.

"ALLEN!" Rabi shouted and crawled towards them. Allen looked down and saw Tyki's arm straight through it. He coughed up blood and Tyki grinned widely at the action. He raised his hand and grabbed Tyki's arm before twisting his arm. Tyki wailed and removed his arm, not able to grab what he wanted. "Allen...Allen! Oh god..." Rabi's voice cracked and he watched as Rinali fell and her brother ran out, attacking the short girl that killed her. He could do nothing but stare as he was also murdered in cold blood. "Why...they didn't do anything to you!" Rabi cried out as Tyki slowly walked towards them.

"No? But they are the ones helping you build this clock." Tyki informed with an evil smile. Rabi dragged Allen away from him.

"Rabi..." Allen mumbled, raising his hand up to caress his face.

"Don't you dare...don't say anything, Allen...I won't let you die on me..." He whispered.

"There's no escape, Rabi. It's inevitable. Give it up." He smiled as he walked towards them.

This guy was nuts. Literally.

"There may not be a future for me...but you won't take Allen from me." Rabi snarled and opened up the back of the clock, shoving him inside. Feeling the coldness of the wood against his skin, Allen froze and sat up.

"No! Rabi! You can't!" Allen screamed as he shut the back of the clock. His eyes widened and he looked through the hole that the blade 'Jasdero' was using made. He watched as Tyki easily slaughtered him as the girl did to Rinali. He felt anger boil inside of him. _No...no this can't...I was supposed to protect you! _ Allen thought, tears streaming down his face. "I'll kill you!" Allen screamed. There was a flash of green and a pain flashed through his left arm, tearing through the wood. Tyki spun around and his eyes widened at the sight.

"Tyki, run!" The girl called. Tyki smirked.

"I won't run, not from a-" His words cut off and he slowly looked down to see Allen's claws piercing his chest. The little girl cried out and ran off. Allen threw Tyki aside and bolted for her, easily slaying her and then the one who killed Kanda. They all fell lifelessly and Allen's arm turned back to normal. He groaned and fell to his knees, clutching his chest. He slowly crawled towards Rabi's body.

"Rabi...Rabi...no..." He cried. "Rinali? Kanda?" He called out, hoping they were still alive. "Anyone...please..." He begged, hugging Rabi close to him. "Rabi..." He sobbed, kissing him gently. His tears dropped onto his face. He was cold and didn't stir. "RABI!" Allen wailed. He froze when he felt something fall upon his shoulder. He looked up, his face muddled by the tears. There was a small golden critter standing on his shoulder. Allen sniffled and held his hand out. It flew onto his hand. "What...are you?" He asked. "Can you...can you help him?" Allen asked hopefully. The critter shook it's head and opened his mouth to reveal symbols only a humanoid could read.

_All souls will eventually be reborn. _

"How...how long?" Allen asked, feeling hope rise in his chest.

_Hundreds of years. _

"I see...I can't...not without Rabi..." He whispered. The critter wiped a tear away from Allen's eye, using it's wing.

_Timcanpy came from the clock. He is a part of it. He can put you to sleep for however many years you wish. _

"Timcanpy...is that you?" It nodded. "Please...please take this all away...let me sleep...I don't care for how long! I have to see him again." Allen's voice broke. The golden critter suddenly grew bigger and bigger and bigger until it was the size of a football stadium. It opened it's mouth. Allen looked down at Rabi's peaceful face. "I love you so much...just wait for me, okay?"

_Allen..._a voice echoed to him. Allen predicted it was Timcanpy's and looked up. He looked down at Rabi with a determined set in his teary, silver eyes.

"Just you wait, Rabi...I will get you back. No matter how many times I have to watch you die, I will hold on...for you...I will always watch over you, okay? No matter how many years I have to sleep each time. I love you...I will love you forever." He whispered and kissed him one last time before standing up and walking over towards Timcanpy.

_It's time to go. _

"I'll be back. Always."


End file.
